President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran is drawing criticism from an unexpected place: the Make America Great Movement that Trump founded. Some of MAGA’s most high-profile advocates are openly criticizing the Trump administration.
MAGA influencers and media figures say the war does not fit into Trump’s “America First” agenda, and some are questioning Trump’s judgment.
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Trump, however, rejects the notion that his movement is splintering.
“MAGA,” he said, “is Trump.”
MAGA criticism of the war
Anti-war sentiments have been especially strong among conservative media figures.
“This is Israel’s war,” Tucker Carlson said on his podcast Tuesday, pinned on his X page. “This is not the United States’ war, this war is not being waged on behalf of American national security objectives to make the United States safer or richer.”
Fellow podcaster Megyn Kelly was equally as critical, setting up her argument by noting the number of American troops who died in the war’s opening hours and remarking that Trump has not ruled out putting boots on the ground in Iran.
“My own feeling is no one should have to die for a foreign country,” Kelly said. “I don’t think that four service members died for the United States. I think they died for Iran or for Israel. … Our government’s job is not to look out for Iran or for Israel, it’s to look out for us. “
Echoing Carlson, she added, “This is Israel’s war.“
Appearing on Kelly’s show, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — a Trump ally turned adversary — questioned Trump’s mental capacity.
“We need to have a serious conversation about what the f— is happening to this country,” the Georgia Republican said, “and who in the hell are these decisions being made for, and who is making these decisions.”
Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh criticized fellow conservatives on Monday, urging them not to support the war. Walsh questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s stated rationale for why the U.S. attacked Iran.
”So he’s flat out telling us that we’re in a war with Iran because Israel forced our hand,” Walsh said. “This is basically the worst possible thing he could have said.”
Trump rejects criticism
Despite the anti-war rumblings, Trump insists his followers are behind him.
“MAGA is Trump,” he told independent journalist Rachel Bade. “MAGA wants to see our country thrive and be safe. And MAGA loves what I’m doing — every aspect of it.”
White House spokesman Olivia Wales doubled down on that remark in an e-mail to The Washington Post on Tuesday, saying the attack on Iran is part of his agenda.
“With Operation Epic Fury, President Trump is putting America first, eliminating the threat to our people, and securing our Nation and world for generations to come,” Wales said.
Analysis of growing feud
Trump has said the U.S. military involvement in Iran could last four to five weeks, or longer. But the uncertain timeline has raised questions about his often-stated commitment to avoid so-called forever wars.
When he first ran for president in 2016, Trump criticized former President George H.W. Bush for invading Iraq in the early 2000s, calling it a mistake. And in 2024, while running against Democrat nominee Kamala Harris, Trump called himself the candidate of peace and insisted he would not start a war if elected.
Whitney Phillips, a professor of information politics at the University of Oregon, told The Washington Post that Trump is posing a stiff test to his supporters.
“Trump has put these people in such an impossible position,” she said.
Matthew Dallek, a professor at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management, told The Post that to MAGA supporters, the Iran war “feels legitimately like a betrayal on a fundamental tenet of Trumpism”.
Conservative support for Trump and Iran attack
However, The Post said in its canvassing of roughly 5,000 online posts, podcasts and newsletters from about 80 politicians and commentators showed that most supported the operation against Iran and that only a few were staunchly opposed.
Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer said she has spoken with Trump and not only congratulated him about the military operation but also informed him about the high-profile criticism.
She said Trump slammed Kelly as someone who has always been against him, and said he doesn’t care about what Carlson has to say.
